The Vodacom Blue Bulls
Loftus Versfeld is home to the Blue Bulls (“Blou Bulle” in Afrikaans). In 2005 Vodacom became the major sponsor of the team and they are currently known as the Vodacom Blue Bulls.
The Blue Bulls team, known simply as the Bulls during the Super Rugby competition, is a prominent rugby union not only in South Africa but in the world. They are one of the top performers in the Currie Cup tournaments and have reached the finals of the Super Rugby competitions numerous times.
Currently the Blue Bulls dominate the Springbok squad with about 12 players.
Background
The team, first known as Northern Transvaal, originated during 1938 when they broke away from the Transvaal Rugby Union. The symbol, which can still be seen in the pavilion of Loftus, was the Barberton daisy. In 1997 the name of the rugby union was officially changed to the Blue Bulls.
Locally they compete with 13 other rugby unions in the Currie Cup tournament and internationally with 14 other teams from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand in the Super Rugby competition.
Currie Cup
In 1946 Northern Transvaal won their first Currie Cup match at Loftus Versfeld and over the years the team grew in strength and became a fierce opponent in the Currie Cup matches. This gave rise to the team being called “Bulle” (Bulls in Afrikaans), which together with their light blue jersey led to them eventually being referred to as the “Blou Bulle”.
Thus far they have won the Currie Cup 14 times as Northern Transvaal and 5 times as Blue Bulls which, if you add the four shared wins, make a total of 23 wins. This place them second behind Western Province when it comes to overall wins.
Super Rugby
In 2007 the Bulls became the first SA Rugby Team to win the Super Rugby title during the Super Rugby professional era. They went on to win this title another two times, including one match on their home ground Loftus Versfeld in 2009. Notable Bulls players are Morné Steyn, who is among the top Super Rugby point scorers in the world, Brian Habana who scored an impressive 37 tries for the Bulls and Victor Matfield who was Bulls captain for 75 Super Rugby matches.
Significant players
The Blue Bulls rugby union has produced some of the most prominent rugby players in the country, which include, Frik du Preez, Naas Botha, Derick Hougaardt, Joost van der Westhuizen, Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield and Morne Steyn.
The International Rugby Board named Bryan Habana the 2007 International Player of the Year and Jan Serfontein won the 2012 IRB Junior Player of the Year.
Springbok squads
Right from the start Blue Bulls players featured prominently in the Springbok squads, having had eight players (which included Danie Craven) becoming Springboks in their first year of existence. Ten became Springboks in 1968, nine in 1969, twelve in 1980, nine in 1998, seven in the 2003 World Cup and nine in the 2007 World Cup. There are currently about 12 players in the Springbok squad.
Joost was the first player to represent the Springboks in 100 matches and holds the record for the most tests (78) as well as the most test tries (35). He was also the captain during the 1999 World Cup and is widely considered to be one of the best half-backs in the world. Bryan Habana scored the most tries at the 2007 World Cup while at the 2011 World Cup Morne Steyn was the top point scorer of the tournament.
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Bulls players warming up:
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